Forget Selling!
Instant Influence for Powerful
Persuasion
by Edie Raether
Throw away your old sales books and
marked up manuals and face the facts.
Most smooth and slick sales strategies
no longer work in today’s savvy
marketplace.
If you always do what you’ve
always done, you will only get what you
have always gotten, and that simply may
not be enough — unless you like skinny
kids!
To be effective
in today’s
competitive
marketplace may
I suggest a few
of the 12
Power Principles
in my
forthcoming book
to increase
sales and avoid
professional
burnout.
The
Power of the
Common
Denominator
People prefer to
say yes to
individuals they
know, like and
find attractive.
Is it not more
difficult to say
“no” to a friend
or someone with
whom you have a
close
relationship? In
fact, physical
attractiveness
creates a halo
effect where
people project
other favorable
impressions up
you including
intelligence,
kindness and
talents. They
also say yes to
those who are
similar.
Compliments tend
to increase
compliance, as
do positive
associations,
which is why
Nike pays
millions to
Michael Jordan
to boast the
footwear. How
will you create
a positive bond
and establish
those powerful
common
denominators
with your
clients?
On the other
hand, how can
you create a
distance to
protect yourself
and make more
objective
decisions when
you are too
enamored because
of the common
bond?
The
Power of
Incremental
Commitment
Once you or your
buyer has made
some level of
commitment to
you or the sale,
their behavior
will be
consistent to
that commitment.
This principle
is often
exploited by
those who
structure our
interactions so
that our need
for consistency
leads to their
benefit. This is
NOT integrity
selling and is
simply not fair
play. However,
you should be
aware of this
principle for
your own
personal defense
as well. If
there is initial
resistance,
suggest small
levels of
commitment which
lead to the
larger
commitments
necessary to
make the sale.
A very
successful
triangle realtor
told me that she
always gets a
commitment up
front from her
clients and thus
rarely loses a
client, by
simply making it
very clear that
she expects
their loyalty in
exchange for her
work and
dedication to
them. Consider
the advice of
Jack Stanko, a
used-car sales
manager in
Albuquerque.
“Put ‘em
on paper.
Get the
customer’s
OK on paper.
Get the
money up
front.
Control ‘em.
Control the
deal. Ask
‘em if they
would buy
the car
right now if
the price is
right. Pin
‘em down.”
The
Power of Instant
Influence
Buying styles
have been
altered by our
“auto-response”
age of instant
love and
push-button
success. People
are busier than
ever and their
lives are on
overload causing
them to feel
even more
stressed out
with one more
decision in
their lives. The
spread-sheet
approach to
problem solving
is quickly
disappearing
except for a
number-crunching
CPA. Your
selling style
must thus
accommodate
accordingly.
The same
brilliant mind
that has created
a fast paced,
information
overloaded world
of complexity
has also created
the mental
fatigue and
stress which
causes buyers to
resort to a more
instinctual,
impulsive buying
pattern. Thus,
it is important
for you to
focus, simplify
and create
shortcuts for
the buyer. While
options and
alternative can
create
flexibility,
they also can
add to the
information
overload. Three
easy to
understand
choices will cut
the deal.
Confusion will
lose it!
By developing a
selling style
that
incorporates
these three
principles and
the other nine
described in my
forthcoming
book, Forget
Selling!,
you will
increase sales
with integrity
and the power of
influence and
persuasion.